LOS ANGELES >> Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday he has created a committee to run for governor in 2018.

In a message posted on Facebook and sent by email to supporters, Newsom explained that he is forming the committee more than three years before the primary election because “the reality of running for governor — even four years from now — in America’s largest, most diverse state demands that I start raising resources now if we’re going to lead a conversation worthy of the 38 million people who live, work, attend school and raise families in the Golden State.”

In his message, Newsom praised Gov. Jerry Brown — who is barred from running for re-election because of term limits — but said “long-term challenges remain daunting.”

“We must continue to grow our economy and create private-sector jobs, we must invest in public education and keep college affordable, we must address the widening inequalities that separate our communities and we must maintain California’s historic leadership in meeting the climate challenge,” Newsom said.

Newsom briefly ran for governor in 2009, then switched to the lieutenant governor’s race.